


That Familiar Yearning

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Series: The New Travels of Rose and the Doctor [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universes, F/F, I’m so in love with thirteen it’s not even funny, Pre-Relationship, Reuniting, i don’t even know what to tag this as, like How Doctor Who does alternate universes not an au, like seconds away from them confessing their love, old flames that never died
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 00:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16230233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Rose Tyler finds herself in a not too unfamiliar predicament, and meets someone with a not too unfamiliar face.





	That Familiar Yearning

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE THIRTEEN she’s amazing and I mean let’s be real I’ve been in love with the doctor for years and have to live vicariously through the doctor’s love interests

Well, this was bad. Quite bad, as a matter of fact. She knew she probably could have avoided this situation if she had just kept her nose out of any alien-related business. But ever since she traveled with the Doctor, Rose found herself unable to look the other way when there were those in need. 

And that was how she found herself hanging on the edge of a spaceship, after the owner had so kindly decided to throw her out. They were a rather nasty race of aliens, something from the outer reaches of the galaxy with a name she couldn’t pronounce, who had been abducting cows and leaving farms with nothing but the heads. She had figured out their next target and confronted them, but they weren’t happy at being found out. So once they reached several hundred feet in altitude, they decided to open the airlock. She managed to catch on to the edge, but there was very little chance of her making it out of this alive. 

It was a relatively lame way to go, all things considered. She could have died dozens of times while travelling with the Doctor, usually whilst defending the earth or some other planet. But no, this time, she was defending the cows. At least they would be thankful for her noble sacrifice. 

Just as her fingers were beginning to slip, a woman’s face appeared out of nowhere above her. “Need a hand?”

“No, I’m having such fun hanging out here.” She yelled, the wind rushing around her. “Yes, of course I need a hand!” 

The woman reached down, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her up to safety. They were just outside the airlock, and quickly ascending in altitude. “You alright?”

“Yeah, fine. But fat lot of good it’s going to do, now that they’ve closed the airlock on us. We’ll just have to suffocate instead.” Rose took a long look at the woman’s face. She was absolutely beautiful, with a charming, curious smile. Her outfit was eccentric, but nothing too out of the ordinary. And there was something about her eyes, and the way she conducted herself that seemed familiar, somehow. Like someone Rose used to know. 

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Well, half a plan, and I’ll make up the rest as we go along.” The woman went up to a small panel on the outside of the airlock and began pressing buttons, mumbling something to herself. 

Rose was beginning to notice the lack of oxygen in the air. “I guess that’s better than nothing. Hey, do I know you from somewhere?”

“You used to, a long time ago.” The woman pressed some buttons, and the panel made a loud, angry noise. She pressed some more buttons. The angry noise again. 

“That’s very cryptic. Can’t you just tell me who you are?”

“Trust me, I would love to. But you have to figure it out on your own, or else the universe will tear itself apart.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. It seems to like to do that. Surprisingly delicate thing, the universe is. Ah-ha!” She exclaimed. The door to the airlock opened, and they quickly ran inside, the door closing behind them. Now they were inside the airlock. “Well, at least we won’t asphyxiate now.”

“Can’t you at least give me a hint of where I know you from?” 

“I can’t. But you’re ever so clever, you’ll be able to figure it out in no time.”

Rose felt a prickle of a blush come to her cheeks. This woman reminded her so, so much of the Doctor. But it couldn’t be the Doctor. The Doctor was in a different universe. They were separated forever, by one big gap between dimensions. “Well, I know who I want you to be. And I know you’re not them.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m trapped in this universe, and them in another. It’s not possible for you to be them.”

The woman’s face looked sad. But as she opened her mouth to speak, the ship shook, throwing them both against the wall. “Blimey, what the hell are they doing out there?”

“I have no idea, I’m only here because of their cattle mutilation. Is there any way we can get out of the airlock and find an escape pod or something?”

There was a similar control panel inside the airlock that accessed the way into the ship. The woman pressed some buttons on there, to no avail. “Looks like the password for this one is different from the one on the outside. Rose, I’m going to need you to turn around for a moment.”

“Wait, how do you know my name?”

“Please, turn around or I won’t be able to do this.”

“Fine, but then you’re telling me everything.” Rose turned around, and a second later she heard the sound of sparks flying. Whipping back around, the door began to open, and the control panel was on fire. “What the hell did you do to it?”

“If I tell you it’ll give away who I am, and if that happens-“

“Yes, yes, it’ll destroy the universe. But back to the point, how do you know my name?”

“I know a lot about you, Rose. I know who you are, I know your likes and dislikes. I know how you ended up in this universe. But I can’t say anything more.” The woman progressed out of the airlock into the adjacent room, which was, in essence, a garbage room. The aliens would just eject their trash into space out the airlock. Really gross, in concept. 

Rose followed right behind the woman. She didn’t need avoidance, she needed answers. “Why can’t you say anything more? I get the whole universe ripping apart thing, but why would that happen?” 

“Because I’m not from this universe. I’m from a different one. Fell through a delightful little hole, and ended up here.”

“On the cow murder spaceship?” 

“Not there initially. Initially I ended up in the Shetland islands, which made no sense, but I made my way over here because of some reports of cows being abducted.”

“Then we’re here for the same reasons, then.” Rose paused. The only reasonable answer was that this person was the Doctor. But they couldn’t be. Could they? 

“Seems like it. Good to see you’re still trying to save the world. Always was an amiable quality of yours.” The woman found a large lever, and yanked it. It opened up a door into a corridor. “Oh, brilliant. I think this is the way out.”

Rose didn’t say anything as she followed the woman down the corridor. It was long, with a few doors spotted here and there, all of them locked. The sounds of their footsteps on the metal reminded her a little too much of the Tardis. 

With all that the woman had said and done, it made sense that she would be the Doctor, what with regeneration and everything. But the Doctor was adamant about not ever coming in to this universe, for fear of ripping them all apart. Rose fully expected never to see the Doctor again, even if it crushed her heart. But this woman, she just felt so much like the Doctor, it was almost cruel. 

At the end of the hall, they came to a door kindly labeled “Bridge” in military-style letters. This one was unlocked. And on the bridge, there were three large, tentacle-covered aliens. 

“Hello!” Said the woman, getting the aliens’ attention. “So, my friend here, bless her heart, broke into your ship. Now, I know you decided to try throwing her out of the airlock. Very smart, very effective method of eliminating stowaways. But here’s the thing, she’s my friend, and I didn’t quite want her to die, so I snuck myself up here and saved her. If you all have no further objections, we’ll just be going. Oh, and also, I’d rather like it if you stopped mutilating cattle, then everyone would be happy.”

The alien which Rose could only have assumed to be the captain spoke in a voice that was somehow raspy and moist at the same time. “I can’t allow you to do that.”

“Well, why not? We’ll cause no further trouble to you if you just let us go.”

“Because you are stowaways, and stowaways are met with death!”

The Doctor- no, just the woman, took a step back. “Wait just a minute. I can offer you something, something you won’t be able to get if you kill us.”

“And what is that, stowaway?”

“Absolutely nothing. I was just buying time. Rose, run!”

Rose turned on her heel and booked it down the hallway. The wind in her hair, the adrenaline pumping through her veins was exhilarating. She could hear the scream of the captain, telling his tentacled first mate to get after them. But they were already a good distance down the hall when they found another unlocked door, a dark little supply closet. 

Rose smiled, panting. “God, I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

“Beats working at a shop, eh?” Rose couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she could hear a smile in her voice. “Have you guessed who I am?”

Rose sighed. “I desperately, desperately wish that you’re the Doctor, but I know that can’t be true.”

“Why not?”

“They’re stuck in another universe, while I’m stuck here. If they tried to come here, both universes will be torn apart.”

The woman’s voice grew small. “I didn’t try to come here. It was just a lucky accident.” She paused. “I say lucky, falling through a wormhole is never really lucky.” 

Rose frowned. She couldn’t believe it. “But you can’t-“

“It seems like I can.”

Tears began prickling in Rose’s eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. “I thought I’d never see you again.” 

The woman who had proved herself to be the Doctor wrapped Rose up in a hug. She could feel the beating of the Doctor’s two hearts against her own. “Oh god, I know. I’m so sorry for everything that I ever put you through.”

“Don’t be, those were the best years of my life.” She buried her face into the Doctor’s blue striped shirt. “I’ve spent the years since then trying to live up to that, and nothing does. But how? How are you back?”

“Like I said, a lucky accident. Wormholes are unpredictable, and one sent me here.”

“How are you going to get back?”

“I have absolutely no idea. Could probably use your help on that one.”

Rose smiled. “I’d love to.”

“I’m sorry I just sort of dropped all this on you. I would have done it properly, with all the proper introductions, but things were all kind of mucked up.”

“So you’re a woman now?”

“Looks like it.” There was a sprinkle of hesitation in the Doctor’s voice. “Do you like it?”

“It’ll take some getting used to, that’s for sure. But I think you’re beautiful.”

Though Rose couldn’t see the Doctor’s face in the dark, she could tell the Doctor was blushing. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.”

“How many years has it been for you?”

“Too many. Hundreds. Maybe a thousand. I lose track after that long.”

“Oh, Doctor.” She pulled out of the hug just enough to maneuver one hand up to cup the Doctor’s face. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Neither do I. Not really. I’d love to tell you about everything that’s happened in all that time, but I wouldn’t know where to start. Plus, it would probably help if we got out of this broom closet.”

“That might be a good idea. I haven’t heard any of the other aliens in a while, so the coast should be clear.” 

They opened the door a crack and peered out. No aliens appeared, so the started down the hall. 

“I assume we’re heading towards the Tardis.” Rose said. She wanted to grab the Doctor’s hand, but she didn’t know if that would be crossing a line. It had been a thousand years since they had seen her. That tends to throw a stone into one’s relationship. 

“Right you are. It should be down here somewhere…” They reached the end of the hall, only to find themselves at an intersection. “Ah. Now, the real question is, remembering where I turned. This one looks good.” 

They then began down the hallway to the right. This one ended in a dead end. 

“Alright, so we know that’s not it. Let’s try the next one.”

They went to the one immediately across from this one. Another dead end. 

“Ok, not that one either. Narrows it down.”

They started down the last hallway, the middle one, and soon came face to face with a large tentacled alien in front of the Tardis. 

“Well, we know we went down the right hallway.”

“Stop, stowaways.” The alien’s voice boomed. “Resistance is futile.”

“Now where’ve I heard that one before?” The Doctor mused. She fished around in her coat pockets and pulled out her sonic. It was a vastly different sonic from the one Rose had been familiar with, but seemed to suit this doctor quite well. “Leave us be, or else I’ll blow this whole ship with the push of a button.”

Rose nodded. “She’ll do it. She’s crazy.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that comment, but kept up the facade. The sonic screwdriver couldn’t hurt a fly, unless that fly happened to be made out of electronics. “I’ll kill us and all of you, unless you let us go.”

The alien glanced between the Doctor, Rose, and the sonic screwdriver. After a moment, it seemed to make up its mind. “You may have your blue box, but if you ever stowaway on this ship again, you will be excecuted.”

“Yes, I got that much. Thanks for the help mate! And by the way, leave the cows alone, or I may actually have to do something drastic.”

The alien looked concerned as to what the Doctor had meant, but instead of asking questions, it slithered on down the hall. 

“Phew. That never works. Luckily, they’re too stupid to figure out it’s just a screwdriver.” The Doctor mused as she unlocked the door to the Tardis. “Just a warning, it looks a bit different from how you used to know it.”

“Still looks like a police box to me. I see you haven’t gotten that fixed.”

“Nah. I like it how it is.” The Doctor threw the doors open. “Welcome, Rose, to the new-new-new-et cetera Tardis.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “You weren’t kidding. It really has changed.” She walked up to the center console. The whole of the Tardis looked different, with all the lights, switches, and knobs on the console being different from how they used to be. Even the sound of her feet on the metal was different. 

“You don’t like it?”

“I do like it. Very much. It’s just a different look is all. It’s nice. A lot less grimy.”

The Doctor quickly grew defensive of her Tardis. “Hey, you never complained about the griminess before.” 

Rose smiled. “I’m kidding. But it is nice. It suits you.”

The Doctor went up and flicked a few switches on the console. The sound of the Tardis dematerializing was the one thing that hadn’t changed. “So, where’re you living now?”

“Still with my mum, if that’s not too embarrassing.”

“Not at all. How’s she doing?”

“She’s fine. So’s dad.”

“That’s good.” Now that they were back in the Tardis, the Doctor seemed to have thrown up some barriers. She was nervous. “I’ll bring you back there, then.”

“Good. That way I can show you off to mum. She’ll be blown away that you’re a woman.”

“Think Jackie’ll like me?”

“Well, I know I do.” There was a lump in Rose’s throat, which she quickly swallowed down. “But you’re planning on leaving.”

“Eventually, yes. Not too soon.”

“And you’re not taking me with you?” Rose wanted to slap herself. She sounded like a clingy ex-girlfriend. Was that what she was?

“Do you want to come with me?” 

“Of course I do. Doctor, our travels are all I can think about. I sit at my job, selling things for Pete, and all I think about is how much I miss travelling the universe. It was the one thing I felt like I had a purpose doing. That’s why I started seeking out sites of alien encounters, because I wanted to feel that again.” She took a deep breath. What if the Doctor no longer cared for her after a thousand years? A knot formed in her stomach at the thought. “Unless you don’t want me to come with you.”

The Doctor met Rose’s eyes. “I’d love for you to come with me.” The Doctor had said that once before. After they had regenerated into the one Rose knew best. 

It was then that Rose took the Doctor’s hand. The skin was smooth, smaller than their hands used to be. But not an unpleasant sensation. “Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Will this ship ever happen? Who knows. But do I want it to? God yes.  
> Also if anyone wants more I can turn this into a series just comment if you’d like to see more of these two nerds who are clearly in love and have not yet come to terms with their feelings


End file.
